(a) The money in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the board, may be used by the board, in consultation with the California Coastal Commission, to award loans as provided in subdivision (b), and to award grants not to exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000) per project, to municipalities, local public agencies, educational institutions, or nonprofit organizations for the purposes of this article. Grants may be awarded for any of the following projects:

(1) A project designed to improve water quality at public beaches and to make improvements for the purpose of ensuring that coastal waters adjacent to public beaches meet the bacteriological standards set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 115875) of Chapter 5 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) A project to provide comprehensive capability for monitoring, collecting, and analyzing ambient water quality, including monitoring technology that can be entered into a statewide information base with standardized protocols and sampling, collection, storage and retrieval procedures.

(3) A project to make improvements to existing sewer collection systems and septic systems for the restoration and protection of coastal water quality.

(4) A project designed to implement storm water and runoff pollution reduction and prevention programs for the restoration and protection of coastal water quality.

(5) A project that is consistent with the state’s nonpoint source control program, as revised to meet the requirements of Section 6217 of the federal Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1329), and the requirements of Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000).

(b) In addition to the grants authorized pursuant to subdivision (a), the board may make loans not to exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000) per project to municipalities, local public agencies, educational institutions, or nonprofit organizations for the purposes set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).

(c) The projects funded from the subaccount shall demonstrate the capability of contributing to sustained, long-term water quality or environmental restoration or protection benefits for a period of 20 years, shall address the causes of degradation, rather than the symptoms, and shall be consistent with water quality and resource protection plans prepared, implemented, or adopted by the board, the applicable regional water quality control board, and the California Coastal Commission.

(d) An applicant for funds from the subaccount shall be required to submit to the board a monitoring and reporting plan that does all of the following:

(1) Identifies the nonpoint source or sources of pollution to be prevented or reduced by the project.

(2) Describes the baseline water quality or quality of the environment to be addressed.

(3) Describes the manner in which the project will be effective in preventing or reducing pollution and in demonstrating the desired environmental results.

(e) Upon completion of the project, a recipient of funds from the subaccount shall submit a report to the board that summarizes the completed activities and indicates whether the purposes of the project have been met. The report shall include information collected by the recipient in accordance with the project monitoring and reporting plan, including a determination of the effectiveness of the project in preventing or reducing pollution. The board shall make the report available to the public, watershed groups, and federal, state, and local agencies.

(f) If projects include capital costs for construction, those costs shall be identified by the project applicant. The grant recipient shall provide a matching contribution for the portion of the project consisting of capital costs for construction, according to the following formula:

Capital Cost Project Cost/Capital Cost Match by Recipient

$1,000,000 to $5,000,000, inclusive ........................

20%

$125,000 to $999,999, inclusive ........................

15%

$1 to $124,999, inclusive ........................

10%

For the purposes of this subdivision, “capital costs” has the same meaning as “cost” as defined in Section 32025 of the Public Resources Code.

(g) Not more than 25 percent of a grant may be awarded in advance of actual expenditure.

(h) An applicant for funds from the subaccount shall inform the board of any necessary public agency approvals, entitlements, and permits that may be necessary to implement the project. The application shall certify to the board, at the appropriate time, that those approvals, entitlements, and permits have been granted.

(i) Where recovery plans for coho salmon, steelhead trout, or other threatened or endangered aquatic species exist, projects funded under this article shall be consistent with those plans, and to the extent feasible, shall seek to implement actions specified in those plans.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 1078, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2001. Note: This section was added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 725, and approved in Prop. 13 on March 7, 2000.)